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What’s new with AVG AntiVirus for Android?

by
Caroline Corrigan & Joseph Regan
on
September 22, 2017

We get it, updating AVG AntiVirus isn’t as exciting as, say, morphing your face with a new filter from Snapchat (sorry, no flower crowns here). However, updates are extremely important for your device’s security.

The truth of the matter is malware is constantly evolving, and these new strains are just waiting for you to let your guard down so they can infect your device and steal your personal information. We’re not about to let that happen, which is why we’ve added several new features to keep nosy friends (and worse) out of your business.

3 big reasons to care about mobile security

To defeat the enemy, you must know the enemy. Recently, our research revealed that attacks targeting Android smartphones and tablets have gone up by nearly 40% over the past few months.

Currently, the top 3 threats to mobile security are:

Rooters (22.80 percent) — Rooters try to trick or force you into giving away “root access” to your mobile, which will give them full control over it. Then, they can steal your data, install new malware, and even delete your apps.

Fake apps (6.97 percent) — You’d be surprised how many copycat apps are on even the most trusted app stores. These fakes might look real, but they only exist to spam you with ads or steal your data.

More powerful app security at your fingertips

If something makes your life easier and intruders lives harder, then it’s an automatic win for us. So we’re proud to introduce two new ways to unlock your apps: fingerprint and lock patterns.

Fingerprint support

Biometric password systems like fingerprint scanners aren’t just cool sci-fi tech, they’re useful for practical reasons, too. For example, they are much more difficult to fake or steal. They also ensure that a potential intruder can’t access your data simply because they’re good at guessing games. Similarly, you also don’t have to worry about forgetting your fifteen character word-salad of a password, or risk saving a password somewhere a hacker could easily get to it. Instead, you get the convenience and simplicity of finger-to-phone contact.

Pattern Lock support

Pattern passwords are also an effective way to keep your apps secure, especially if you’re a finger-painting enthusiasts or it’s mitten weather. Pattern passwords beg the obvious question: Who’s got the time to try and guess your unique pattern out of the gazillions of possibilities? Plus, after 8 unsuccessful attempts to unlock your app, it goes into Lock Mode, which means no one will be able to access your device until you input your unique PIN number.

We’ve also enabled Pattern lock for our pro feature Photo Vault, making it even easier to save and savor your photos.

Send a message to your lost or stolen phone

Having faith in the goodness of humanity is great and all, but it’s not going to help you when a stranger decides to snatch your phone out of your back pocket. With the AntiVirus update, we’ve introduced several new Anti-Theft functions that give you even more remote control over your device. You can now change the settings of Anti-Theft from your AVG Account, or completely wipe your call log, contacts and SMS messages.

You can also send a customized message to your phone’s display screen ($10,000 reward if found!), regardless of whether or not it’s locked. Want to scare the crap out of your phone-napper? Activate a siren that increases in volume as the thief struggles to turn it off. In the Pro version of the app, remotely capture photos or record audio of the thief. Theftie time!

Ain’t nobody got time for slow Wi-Fi

There’s nothing worse than a mid-scene buffer just as things are getting good, or a spot of lag when you’re about to get that killer headshot, so make sure your Internet connection speed is up to par with our new Wi-Fi Speed Test. With a single tap, quickly verify the download and upload speeds of your Internet connection.

We’ve lightened up

No need for a massive interface overhaul this time thanks to the expert work of our designers. But since the ‘dark, brooding’ look was so last month, we’ve updated to a more trendy, lighter color scheme that screams ‘powerful security’ and ‘improved readability’. But we’re not just chasing fashion trends here: there’s actually science behind this decision, and while you might not care for the details, we’re fairly certain that your eyes will thank us anyway.

Everything else you can expect in the latest update

Those were just our favorite new features in this update, but there's a lot more where those came from in the new AVG AntiVirus for Android.

Call Blocker: In the past, Call Blocker could only stop specific numbers you’d saved in your address book. But now, you can force any unknown, hidden callers to go directly to voicemail. We’ve also made a number of small bug fixes to help it run better.

App Permissions: Sometimes, apps aren’t forthcoming with the kind of data they want to access on your mobile. App Permissions fixes that by making sure you know exactly what each app needs to run.

Safe Clean: A slow device is never fun to use. Clean out residual data and caches to improve your mobile's speed, performance, and usability.

Pro — Photo Vault: We’ve all got photos we’d rather not share. Encrypt and import your private photos into a code-protected vault, so no one can “accidentally” stumble into them.

How do I get it?

Hopefully we’ve convinced you of the importance of keeping your antivirus up to date. For those of you already protected by AVG AntiVirus, you can quickly and easily update via Google Play. If you’re not protecting your mobile yet… what are you waiting for? Get to Google Play and download AVG AntiVirus for Android.

That’s it for now. Always keep an eye out for update notifications, as we’re constantly making changes to improve your security and keep you protected. Stay safe!